Friday, November 7, 2014

The lost and forgotten kingdom of Durn Olgek lies buried beneath a thousand lies. It never existed in this world but burst forth from the Underworld spreading a miasma and plague into the lands of unsuspecting neighbors. When the great hero Yerlgur Dravin took it upon himself to destroy the heart of Durn Oglek he was hoisted upon shoulders of many who went before him. When he struck down the living heart of the place and it collapsed, Durn Oglek was no more.

Of course, the story does not end there, else it would be the usual tale of adventure, violence and glory. When Durn Oglek collapsed, it left many small pockets of the Foul Place separated and writhing in their own despair. Over the centuries, most fell apart in decadence and corruption or were set upon and devoured by greater aspects of the Underworld.

One set of survivors, though, were invaded and infected by the ratkin. Great mutated rat-things that were completely hollowed by the Patchwork moved their way in and became joined with the aberrant hosts of Durn Oglek. These new rat-men have grown slowly in power - expanding a kingdom of brutal sacrifice and terrible ritual.

The Ratlords are the high priets of the strange cabal. A collection of ratmen, wererat, giant intelligent rat-things, and worst of all, men who have let the underworld into themselves follow the lead of the Ratlords and pay homage to the great beasts which have poured forth from the Patchwork.

Rumors

Where the Underworld meets the warrens of Aldsburg there are entrances to the Ratlord Domains.

Certain groups have made alliances with the Ratlords and feed them victims for sacrifice and conversion.

Necromancy is common among the ratfolk - they serve their Ratlords in both life and death

The Kingdom Under the World uses the Underworld to create sprawling warrens under all centers of civilization.

Without recruitment, the ratfolk cannot prosper (they do not breed)

Under Aldsburg, the ratkin worship a great idol of a patchwork godling - the Horned Rat Durn. It is said that the Ratlords control their minions by use of the idol's golden horns.

Critters of the Ratlord's Demense

Giant Rats: the size of small dogs, lots of teeth and strange bone/horn growths

Enormous Rats: the size of ponies, often with strange abilities

Plague Goblin: half rat, half small humanoid, all vomit and puss and disease

Men of the Rat: humans that have bound themselves in service - stylized red rat tattoo identifies them, they will likely become infected and turned into ratmen

Eternal Guard: animated ratman skeletons with glaives and plenty of hate for the living

Plague Hound: also known as "shovelheads", creatures of the patchwork kingdom that are vicious preadtors and tend to implant eggs via scorpion-like ovipositor

Wererat: terrible shape changing agents of chaos and woe. they fight both above and below, but tend to have short lives as the chaos and darkness of the underworld break their minds.

Other Notes
We had a great session 2 weeks ago that I haven't posted about yet...I'll try to get to that soon. I'm also preparing for the final sessions of the Worldgod Campaign (7 years, baby!). Mostly in painting and building mode. I cold run it right now, but all of the visual props make it more fun - also - I get to finally use the scroll saw this weekend. KICK ASS! I'll take a ton of photos.